Easy Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna Recipe
Easy Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna Recipe
I came across this Cheesy Chicken Lasagna Recipe on Pinterest awhile back from Real Mom Kitchen. I really wanted to try it, but I wanted to be real with my self. The recipe called for me to stand stirring and watching milk for 25 minutes making sure it didn’t scald. I have three beautiful children who tend to need something every 20.3 seconds. I go in circles from one kid, to the next, to the next, and then back to the first one again. Chances are that milk would be scalded and I would have to be back at the drawing board for dinner. Real Mom Kitchen’s Cheesy Chicken Lasagna also called for the lasagna noodles to be pre-cooked. That is not very high up on my favorite things to do list, and totally not necessary.
I took this recipe and “ShortCutified” it! I love making up words. I basically took a great recipe and cut down the prep time dramatically. Now it seems much more realistic for my schedule and the taste is phenomenal! This is going to hit my regular rotation and would be great to take as a covered dish to church, or other gatherings.
The secret to not needing to stand over the stove for 25 minutes: 2 Tbsp Corn Starch! It took about 5 minutes from start to finish. I just dumped 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk into a medium sauce pan. I stirred in the Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix (0r you could use a packet). Then, I stirred in 2 tbsp of corn starch into the remaining canned milk until it was mixed well. I then added that to the saucepan as well. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the milk thickens. It will be the consistency of an alfredo sauce.
The next step to this Easy Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna Recipe is to start layering. In a 13×9 pan place 1 cup of the sauce you just made. Then layer on the uncooked noodles. On top of the noodles you will put 1 1/2 cups of pre-cooked chicken. You can use grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, chicken tenders, you don’t need anything special. I personally like the grilled chicken or the rotisserie chicken shredded.
Next add 1/2 of each of the shredded cheeses, and then I added some fresh baby spinach. You can add broccoli, or leave out the veggies all together. That is totally up to you. The spinach was great because no one even really knew it was in there, so I was sneaking it in under the radar. 🙂
Finally add another cup of sauce and repeat with the other half of the ingredients. You should finish up with a top layer of noodles and the rest of the sauce. To make sure the noodles cook thoroughly you are going to add 1/2 cup of chicken stock over the top as well. Trust me. This will be absorbed by the noodles and delicious!
**If you wanted to make this gluten free you could use a gluten free lasagna noodle or even a penne pasta and layer it the same way. It turns out amazing.
Top your lasagna with tightly wrapped aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes at 350 Degrees F. When the timer goes off, remove the lasagna from the oven and carefully removed the foil (watch out for the steam). Top with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and return to the oven uncovered for 10 minutes. Just long enough to melt the cheese.
Cool and serve.
Easy Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 12 oz cans evaporated milk
- Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix or 1 1 oz pkg. store bought
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 3 C. Pre-Cooked Chicken Shredded or cubed
- 1 16oz lasagna noodles,
- 2 C cheddar cheese grated
- 2 C mozzarella cheese grated
- 16 oz spinach brocoli, or veggie of choice (optional)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan heat 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk over medium heat. Mix 2 Tbsp of corn starch in the remaining evaporated milk until mixed. Then add the rest of the milk to the saucepan along with the ranch dressing mix. Whisk until thickened, about 5 mins.
- In a 13x9 pan add 1 cup of the ranch sauce. Layer lasagna noodles topped with 1 1/2 cups chicken, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 1 cup of veggies (optional), and top with additional cup of ranch sauce.
- Continue with another layer finishing with a final layer of noodles and cup of ranch sauce.
- Pour 1/2 cup chicken broth over the entire lasagna, and then cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
- Remove from oven and carefully remove the foil. Add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1 cup of shredded cheddar. Return to the oven uncovered for an additional 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Cool and serve.Gluten Free
- Substitute a gluten free lasagna noodle, or gluten free penne pasta. Also make sure your chicken broth & dressing mix is gluten free
Hello!! This sounds yummy!! Did you use pre-boil noodles or did you have to cook the noodles first? Thanks!! Would love to try and make this!!
Hi Bonnie. It is very yummy, and no you don’t have to cook the noodles first. 🙂
Do you think this same recipe would be good if I substituted the chicken for ground beef?
I’m new to wheat free diet (first week actually). I’m thinking of trying this with Corn Tortillas as the noodles. I’ve done a similar “mock” lasagna with flour tortillas. Have my meal plan done for this week, but will let you know how it turns out.
(We are in a small town and while the store has a growing selection of gf products, I didn’t see any noodles. May try some off Amazon)